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Matt LaCosse goes from Broncos' roster bubble to No. 1 tight end

LaCosse and Parker are now the Broncos' No. 1 and 2 tight ends as Heuerman and Butt have both suffered season-ending injuries.
Credit: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Tight end Matt LaCosse #83 of the Denver Broncos dives into the end zone with a second quarter touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on November 25, 2018 in Denver, Colorado.

ENGLEWOOD – Every year, a player or two nabs an NFL team’s season-opening roster spot through his do-or-die performance in the fourth and final preseason game.

Matt LaCosse and Joe Jones were two Broncos players who were on the roster bubble going into preseason game No. 4 at Arizona on August 30. They not only played well enough in that game to make the team’s original 53-man roster, they have continued to perform well enough to stick as the Broncos head into their week 13 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“I think it’s safe to say I’ve made every roster on the last preseason game,’’ said LaCosse, a fourth-year player who made the New York Giants’ week 1 roster in 2017. “I’m one of the 52nd or 53rd guys to make the team every year. It’s been an uphill fight for me. Now it’s time to go out and prove myself and show what I can do.’’

The Broncos’ brain-trust wound up selecting LaCosse as their No. 3 tight end behind Jeff Heuerman and Jake Butt -- and not Brian Parker, who wound up on the practice squad -- when they set their roster in September. Jones’ fine special team play against the Cardinals earned him the nod over Zaire Anderson for a backup linebacker spot.

LaCosse and Parker are now the Broncos’ No. 1 and 2 tight ends as Heuerman and Butt have both suffered season-ending injuries. And fifth-round rookie Troy Fumagalli, who like LaCosse hails from Naperville, Ill., never got going because of an injury.

LaCosse, 26, has never had an opportunity like he does now for a Broncos’ team that suddenly has playoff hopes.

“I can’t say that I have,’’ he said. “Probably since high school.’’

At the University of Illinois, LaCosse played little in his freshman and sophomore years, then was a 1B tight end to 1A Jon Davis as a junior and senior.

Undrafted in 2015, LaCosse spent time with the Giants and Jets before he signed with the Broncos’ roster last December. He’s their lead tight end now.

“It’s a good opportunity,’’ he said. “It stinks it comes at the expense of three other great players and great people. But I look forward to the opportunity to help this team win and go on a playoff run.’’

LaCosse’s strength is as a receiver. His fine end-zone catch on a 10-yard scoring pass from Paxton Lynch in the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ preseason win at Arizona helped him make the team. In the regular season, LaCosse has 14 catches for 171 yards and one, full-team touchdown celebration catch last week against Pittsburgh.

But now that he’s replacing Heuerman as the in-line tight end starter, LaCosse will have to block more than he catches.

“I’ve done a bunch of blocking the past couple weeks,’’ he said. “It’s different type blocking. I’ve been used moving around, going in motion. I’ve been blocking my entire career. I think receiving is something I do well, but I think I’m just as good as a blocker and I’m ready to get in there.’’

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